Articles by Ryan Clarke

Ryan is an university student that was born and raised on the North side of Dublin. The son of a Celtic supporter, Ryan is a devoted fan of his local club Bohemians. In his spare time he enjoys writing about John Delany's favourite "problem child" - the League of Ireland - and all the little things that make it the #GreatestLeagueintheWorld. He also enjoys collecting football jerseys and watching the Chicago Cubs play baseball.

This article is from Edition Nine of The Cynical, our free online magazine. Download the magazine here: ePub version (great for smart phone readers) PDF version In the mountains between Rome and Naples is the Valle Di Comino, a stunning valley green valley filled with vineyards and farms. The village of Settefrati is in…

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The beginning of the season is undoubtedly the most important time of the year for Celtic. With success or failure in the Champions League, between now and August, invariably setting the tone for the rest of the season. With such a short period of rest between the Scottish Cup Final and the beginning of the…

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It was an unusually mild November night on Tuesday the 14th of November 2017, the weather was quite reflective of the mood in the Irish capital. The typically dour and forlorn nature of Irish football supporters was nowhere to be found, a win against Denmark to book our place in Russia for the 2018 World…

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Physical exercise and competition played a major role in Nazi Germany in the efforts to spread its hateful propaganda and racial ideologies. Football was a willing participant in the enforcement of discrimination and anti-Semitism, but as Ryan Clarke explores, Hitler would find out personally that this was one sport where the outcome could not be…

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With a league often shrouded in mismanagement and financial difficulties, football in Ireland are seeing growing signs of supporters getting involved in the ownership of their clubs, with a big focus on charity work in the local community. The Cynical’s Irish football correspondent Ryan Clarke explores how this new model has reignite new hope for…

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The oldest club in the League of Ireland, Athlone Town, is not having the best of times as of late. The Town has a proud football tradition that stretches all the way back to 1887, and it was the first non-Dublin club to compete in the League of Ireland. The current strife that the club…

For most football fans, the divide between players and fans is a chasm that is only widening as the money being pumped into the game continues to skyrocket. In modern football, the multimillionaire players have little in common with the fans that support them. But there is a place in the football world where this…

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When you think of Scottish born players representing Ireland your mind will likely turn to the likes of Ray Houghton, James McCarthy and Aidan McGeady. However, what you may not know is that the first Scot to play for Ireland was, in fact, a Lisbon Lion. His name was Charlie Gallagher. Born in Glasgow in 1940, Charlie was the…